What Inspires You
by Trash-Pile
Summary: (Fem Zukka) Sukka hated being a woman of her tribe. She wanted to be a warrior not some homemaker! After the Avatar shows up, she is introduced to an aspiring jackass and she sets off to do just that.
1. Book One: Water

**A/N: I know "Sukka" and "Kata" are really dumb, unoriginal, and unlikely names had Sokka and Katara would have been born the opposite sex, but I wanted the story to be read easy and not misunderstood. So, yeah. That their names.**

 **Also, this is a four parter. So, yay, something other than one-shots, but not too much for me to abandon because pressure.**

.~.~.~.

Glaring into icy waters, Sukka watched for any movement that might mean lunch. _There!_ The wobbly, blue tinted reflection of a fish came into view. "Easy, easy," Sukka cooed under her breath.

"Sukka, look," her excited brother exclaimed from the other side of the kanoe.

"Unless you just poofed up some meat, save it," Sukka replied harshly. Maybe she shouldn't have been that hard on her brother - away from the village was the only time he could practice waterbending - but there was no way he was coming in between her and lunch. Sukka posed her brother's spear higher to get a better angle. _Just a little more! Come on, fishy fishy._

"But Sukka," Kata argued meekly.

 _Dammit, can't you see I'm busy,_ Sukka wanted to shout. Instead, she paid her brother no mind as she readied for the kill. _One… Two…_

"Ahhrg," Sukka squealed, ice cold water suddenly dumped down her parka and a wiggling _something_ smacking her in the head. In her surprise, she accidently let go of the spear and scared off the fish. _Great_. Well, at least now she could figure out what the hell just happened. Sukka turned on her brother to see his eyes wide in apologetic shock and his mittens covering his mouth. _Oh. Magic… right._

"What did you do?" Sukka demanded, voice still a few octaves higher than usual.

"Sorry," Kata mumbled, wincing. "I-I was just practicing,"

 _Of course he was, and of course_ she _got the short end of it._ "Well, you shouldn't be! You're the one who's supposed to be fishing right now, not me! Can't you at least do what you're supposed to and hunt for a change? You know, instead of playing with your magic water?" Sukka mocked.

"It's not magic water, it's bending," Kata argued, looking quite offended. "And I did catch a fish! If you had just turned around when I called you, you would have seen it. Plus, you were the one that poked the bubble in the first place! If you didn't do that, I wouldn't have lost control,"

 _So, that was what hit me,_ Sukka thought with annoyance. "Well _so-rry_ we can't all be splashing around in puddles. You're not even supposed to be doing it like that! Gran Gran said you were supposed to learn how to hunt like the rest of the men, why can't you just be _normal_ for once?"

" _Excuse me_ " Kata hissed. "You're the one that volunteers to go with me every time," he said, waving his gloved hand at his sister. "You keep offering to come along and then all you do is whine and complain and do it yourself,"

"That because you don't do it right," Sukka sputtered.

"No, it's because you _like_ doing it," Kata accused, clearly fed up with his sister's bone-headedness. "Why can't _you_ be normal? Stay behind with the other women and learn to sew and cook," Kata growled.

Sukka had to admit, her brother had a point. She glanced at her rippling reflection in the ocean as her brother continued on his rant. _Why_ do _I like this stuff? I'm not supposed to..._

But she did, and she was good at it! Not like sewing where she made more holes than patched. Not like cooking where she burned herself and anyone in three feet of her. She wasn't even useful for marriage seeing as her brother was the only boy of age in the tribe. _But hunting… boy's stuff…._ That she could do. She did it, and did it happily, to cover her brother's secret waterbending practice. _I want to do more,_ she realized. _I want to be a warrior._ She wondered if it would have just been easier to be born a guy.

At his sister's silent contemplation, Kata's speech quieted. "Hey," he said in a hush, placing a reassuring hand on his sister's shoulder. Sukka looked up, eyes sad and confused but not tearful. "I'm sorry, that was a low blow…. You know I love you… and your not weird for liking this stuff," Kata murummered.

Sukka wondered briefly if he was apologizing for what she had heard, or if he said something worse while she zoned out. _Eh, so long as I didn't hear._ "Thanks, Kata, but I think the village would disagree,"

Kata gave her a sympathetic look, but said nothing. The village was their clan: their family! Kata didn't hate his sister for her oddness, but that didn't mean it wouldn't be looked down upon by the rest of their people. And no matter how much they didn't want to admit it, what their village said went. "Come on, how about we try getting seals instead of fish," Kata tried to comfort her.

Sukka gave him a small smile and nodded. That sounded nice and it would let them forget about all their problems for a bit.

Or at least it would have if the world hadn't suddenly decided to turn upside down. Literally. A sudden surge from the water toppled the sibling's kanoe and sent them overboard. Then they meet the Avatar.

 _Yeah… thanks, universe. I figured you'd do something like that._

.~.~.~.

 _Of course he'd go out to play with airboy!_

Sukka stopped in her sewing practice and sighed. As she examined the pair of pants in her hands, she couldn't tell if it was better or worse from when she first got it. _What in…._ Sukka lifted the pants, but felt it tug at something. Raking her fingers over the pants and turning it this way and that, she saw what had caught onto the clothes. _I sewed it to the tent? Oh boy… definitely worse off._ Sukka groaned in frustration and let the pants drop to the icey floor. _It's not fair_ , she thought as she rose from the ground and pushed her way past the tent flaps. Her brother was playing with some kid when he should be hunting or training. All the while, she was stuck at the tent mending clothes. _Well... more like destroying them._

Sukka stomped away from the tent and outside the meek walls of their village. She was going to drag Kata back by the ear if she had to. Nailed dug into her palms as she curled her hands into fists. Her brother shouldn't even be trusting that kid. No one just pops up out of the ocean all okay and dandy.

The angry stomping came to a halt as a blazing light lit the sky. "Oh no," she whispered, staring up at the beckon. That couldn't be good. Spirits, it probably wasn't too off from disastrous. The pale blue light - almost too blinding to look at - was an endless pillar in the sky. Omashu could probably see that. The Earth King, inside his palace in the heart of Ba Sing Se, could probably see that. A shudder went through her as a sudden thought struck.

 _Fire Nation could see that._

Sukka turned around and raced to find Gran Gran, betting a month of seal jerky rations it had to do with that Aang kid.

It didn't take long before Kata and Aang showed up again. Sukkta waited beside the rest of their village with the most threatening disposition she could muster. The moment the two boys were close enough that they could hear her, Sukka began, "You! I knew you were nothing but trouble! You signaled the Fire Navy with that flare, didn't you?"

Kata stepped between his sister and Aang quickly. "Aang didn't do anything! It was an accident," he argued.

"Yeah," Aang cut in, poking his head over Kata's shoulder. "We were on that abandoned ship. We didn't know it was booby trapped! We… boobyed right into it," Aang said, at least looking abashed by his actions.

"Kata, you know that ship is forbidden. It could have been dangerous," she argued, stalking up to her younger brother to look down her nose at him.

"It wasn't his fault," Aang quickly cut in, coming to stand beside Kata, "it was my idea."

"So you confess," Sukka declared, poking the young air nomad in the chest. Sukka squared her shoulders before looking back at the village behind her. "Everyone, away from this traitor! The foreigner has brought us danger and therefore banished," she declared. She may not be a man, but she was the Chief's daughter dammit! She had authority.

"Sukka, you're making a mistake," Kata growled, clenching fists at his sides.

"No, I'm protecting his village," she declared, refusing to back down.

"Gran Gran?" Kata asked desperately, looking at the last villager still idling by the entrance.

The old woman shook her head. "I am sorry, Kata, but you know that ship was forbidden. I agree with Sukka, I think it is about time our guest left,"

"Then..." Kata began, shifting eyes everywhere desperately for some sort of solution. "Then I'm banished too," he replied, whipping around to the shocked airbender. "Come on, Aang," he spat, still furious with his sister.

"No," Aang drawled, "Kata, I don't want to come between you and your family." Aang looked to Sukka and gave a slight nod of his head. "I'll leave," he agreed.

Kata gave Aang pleading eyes, but after a moment accepted his decision. They exchanged goodbyes and after a swift hug before the young boy left. Kata immediately turned on his sister. "Happy now? There goes the world's last hope,"

"Yeah, well right now you're this _village's_ last hope," Sukka said pointedly, but voice softening. "Get inside and get into your warrior's armor, the Fire Navy will be here any minute and you're the only one to defend us," She said softly.

Still fuming, Kata shouldered passed his sister and into the village. _I want to help, Kata. Really, I do! But what can I do?_ Sukka looked at her hands, tender and still pale with being pricked so many times. _I can't bend. I can't wield a weapon. I can't fight. I'm just a girl. I_ want _to, but I can't._

Sukka sighed, tucking her hands into the pockets of her parka. The afternoon wasn't usually this chilled, was it?

Sukka trudged her way back inside the walls. She needed to grab the children and hide them away. At least if there was another raid, the Southern Water Tribe could still survive.

.~.~.~.

One black piece of ash falling like snow was all it took.

Sukka stared up at the sky in immobilized fear. _It's happening…_ again _!_ Sukka bit her lip before tearing her eyes away from the blue sky. It would likely turn gray from smoke and she just didn't want to see that. Sukka rushed another pair of kids into the igloo and told them to keep quiet. Two elders sat with them to keep the kids from wailing. She knew they were scared. Spirits, she was scared too! But now was not the time.

Sukka raced out of the igloo in time to see her brother - now adorned in traditional warrior's clothing and war paint - and followed into step with him. "Remember no bending," Sukka ordered him unnecessarily. The siblings knew Kata would never bend infront of Fire Nation soldiers. If he did, what their mom died for would have been for nothing. But Sukka didn't want to lose the last of her dwindling family, and she'd be damned if she didn't remind her brother though they were fighting.

"I know," he replied coldly, refusing to look at his sister. Sukka halted and watched as her brother continued to the watch tower and stood there. _Our only hope is my little brother. The same guy that can barely hold a spear._ She didn't know if she wanted to laugh or cry.

It wasn't long before the shadow of a ship came into view. The metal monster was booking it to their little patch of ice. If the ship didn't slow down soon, they'd tear right into the village. _Not that they'd care_ , Sukka thought venomously to herself. The concerned voices from behind her brought her attention back to the igloo. Older women called to her to come back to them, but it didn't feel right. She should be out there helping Kata, woman or not! But… that was not the ways of the Water Tribe. _You better stay alive little brother,_ Sukka thought to herself before running back to her people.

It felt like hours before the Navy ship finally made it to their home. The sound of metal scrapping ice rang clear through the village, as well as the sound of snow toppling and the indigent yelp of her brother. _That tears it!_ Sukka stood from where she was huddled with some of the older women and bolted out the door. The sound of smaller feet followed her, but she hardly noticed.

Outside, Kata had just freed himself from out of the snow pile he was buried under. The boy shook of the remaining snow with obvious annoyance and tightened his hold on his club. He hadn't noticed his sudden audience.

The Navy ship had broken through a few yards of ice before dropping their ramp. A moment later, three soldiers stepped out of the shadows of the inner ship and made their way towards the village.

Kata charged for them with club posed above his head. Sukka winced as she watched. _Bad move, bro. The hell are you thinking? You're gonna get creamed!_

The soldier in the middle didn't so much as flinch at the sight. A swift crescent kick and the club was gone. An opening formed as Kata looked stunned and the soldier grabbed him by the front of his parka before throwing him off the side of the ramp. Sukka took in a sharp breath as Kata hit the pile of snow. Hopefully it softened the fall, but that wouldn't matter if he landed wrong. _Please be okay._

Sukka clutched her grandmother's arm, partily to protect the elder and part for her own reassurance. The soldier approached before stopping in front of her and Gran Gran. Pale gold eyes looked over the line villagers.

Sukka knitted her eyebrows together. Getting a closer look at the soldier, she noticed something was off about him. There was a disfiguring scar eating the left half of his face, but the right looked… soft. High cheek bones that were dusted with a light blush. Sharp features and sharper eyes, but his long, dark lashes looked mesmerizing against his skin. Full lips that were pink and glistened in the sunlight. It was a face that belonged on a tapestry. _Minus the whole burn thing._ Not to mention his figure looked oddly curved under that armor. The chest plate was also unusually bulky. Sukka wondered how that could have been comfortable to wear.

"Where is he?"

 _Oh._

That was it. The soldier's voice had a rough edge to it - like some of the elders that smoked too much when they were young - but it was clearly a woman's.

"I know he's here, where are you hiding him?" She asked again.

Sukka's widened and her mind raced. _A women in the army? Unheard of! Impossible! But… it was as clear as day. A female soldier… and not just any soldier, no, she's the commander!_ A high ranking woman that gave orders to an entire ship. And they listened! _She's good too. That kick was just enough force to keep Kata away without overexertion or unnecessary bloodshed._

Sukka had clench her jaw to make sure it didn't hang open. There was an odd feeling in her chest. Hot and swelling as though she had just swam for miles. Despite herself, Sukka felt hopeful. If there were female soldiers, then maybe it just her village that was like this. If she left, she could be accepted as the warrior she felt she was and not the women she was born as. She could leave the village. Leave and make something of herself. Make her dad proud. Her people proud. She could-

The Fire Nation woman grabbed Kanna and yanked the elderly woman closer to her. "He'd be about this old? Master of all four elements," She prompted, shaking the elder. _Oh hell no_.

"Get off of her," Sukka growled, lunging for the soldier.

The woman pushed Kanna away before sidestepping Sukka's pathetic attack. Sukka whirled back at the soldier, but a sweeping motion of booted feet and an iron grip sent Sukka back in line with the rest of her people. Sukka attempted to get back to her feet, but a small fireball shot at the ground kept her still. _Great, she's a firebender too._ Sukka could have slapped herself in the forehead. _Of course_ she'd _fuck up this bad. Attack a firebending Navy commander? Sure, why not?_

Kata - wonderful Kata - took that moment to come back with a spear. The firebender didn't even need to look before grabbing the wooden shaft, breaking it in her grip, and using the broken spear to poke Kata in the forehead and off his feet.

"I'm done playing nice," She growled, steam blowing past her lips. "Where. Is. The. Avatar,"

"Right here,"

Aang glided in on the back of a seal otter. The firebender was knocked off her feet and landed in an undignified pose with her helmet on her butt. Sukka had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from snickering.

"Kata, Sukka," Aang greeted, leaping off the seal otter.

"Aang," Kata cheered, still sitting in the snow.

"Hi, Aang, thanks for coming," Sukka muttered.

The firebender was up and looked royally pissed. She readied her stance and after a banter with the twelve year old airbender, the two exchanged blows.

 _That's kind of impressive_. Sukka looked to her brother who had been beaten by a poke to the head. She herself hadn't fared better, having been thrown around like a rag doll. _Okay, really impressive._ It was hard to admire the Navy commander - she was the enemy after all - but woman to woman, it was amazing. There was power and strategy in every move. _Bet no one makes_ her _sew pants._

But the feeling of awe died as soon as Aang gave himself up and was marched into the ship. Sukka felt the wave of unjust anger overpower the strange new inspiration. This was the enemy, not some hero to look up to.


	2. Book Two: Earth

_Finally!_ Sukka thought to herself as the small group came to a spacious opening. _Land, sweet land!_ Sukka jumped off the flying bison before Appa could even make his crash landing. Beside her, Toph, her brother, and Aang followed. "Okay, forget setting up camp, I'm just gonna find the softest pile of dirt to lie on," Sukka grumbled, crawling away with her rolled up sleeping bag.

"That's good," Kata quipped from the other side of the clearing, "because Toph wasn't going to help anyway."

"Oh, I didn't know the baby still needed someone to tuck him into bed at night," Toph snapped right back.

Sukka shoved her sleeping bag over her head and groaned. Before a major fight could break out, Aang came to the rescue. "Come on, guys. That's enough," he huffed, pulling his shirt over his face, "there's someone chasing us and we don't even know who they are or what they want."

"It could be Zukari again, we haven't seen her since the North Pole," Kata half muttered to himself.

"Who's Zukari?" Toph asked.

 _Oh yeah, she never met her,_ Sukka reminded herself before she could make a sarcastic remark. It was weird to think that someone in their little gang hadn't met the menace; Zukari had become such a major part of their own personal hell. Sukka flopped face first onto the ground before answering, "Oh, just some angry freak with a ponytail that's chased us all over the world."

"What's wrong with ponytails, Ponytail?" Kata remarked.

Sukka freed her arm from under her body to point at her own ponytailed hairstyle. "Nothing, but I don't go shaving my entire head," she pointed out. It wasn't the best look for the princess, but Sukka wasn't about to trade fashion tips with the enemy. _Time for sleep_.

Or it would have been time for sleep if a certain flying lemur hadn't jumped onto her back. Sukka grumbled before waving the animal away and flopping down. Momo came back with chattery rengence. "No, Momo, sleepy time," she muttered, patting the lemur's head. Momo didn't take the hint and continued chattering before flying to a nearby rock to watch the horizon. Aang rose in alert followed by Toph and then Kata. Sukka groaned, "Oh, don't tell me."

"There's no way they could have tracked us," Aang said in disbelief.

"I can feel it with my own two feet," Toph confirmed, much to everyone else's displeasure.

Sukka finally rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up. The group walked over to the ledge of the open field to get a glimpse of their pursuers. Even from their distance, Sukka could see the plumes of smoke coming from the machines their pursuers were using. _That's insane! How do they keep doing this?_

"Maybe we should leave?" Kata suggested, looking none too pleased at the idea of fighting while exhausted.

"Or we could face them?" Aang suggested. "Who knows, maybe they're friendly,"

"Ever the optimist," Sukka groaned, watching the horizon. It seemed unlikely the people following them were benevolent. That just wasn't their luck. Plus, those machines reminded Sukka of Fire Nation technology. _And what kind of people rush someone they're trying to befriend?_

"It's those girls from Omashu," Kata gasped, bringing Sukka out of her thoughts. _Well, would ya look at that_. Three girls exited the machine on Mongoose Lizards. The girls seemed to be watching the little gang before their mounts took off at neck breaking speed. _Shit!_

The small group readied themselves into a fighting stance. "We can take them," Toph announced with determination. Sukka wasn't too positive about that, though. She remembered the last time they had fought those three; they had made it out just barely. "It's three on three," the earthbender said confidently.

 _Um… what?_

"Actually, Toph, it's three on four," Sukka corrected hesitantly.

"Oh, sorry," Toph apologized with a sheepsh shrug, "I didn't count you, you know, no bending and all."

"I can still fight," Sukka yelled furiously at the small girl. Like hell she was about to be counted out. Maybe coming from the South Pole, she wouldn't be much of an opponent, but she's grown a lot since then! Sukka had fought beside Kyoshi warriors, been in the middle of a pirate vs firebender fight, dodged water whips from her annoyed brother, and had even fought the preppy chi blocker before. She could fight! Hell, she's fought angry jerk face for months now.

"Okay," Toph she said smugly, "three on three plus Sukka."

Sukka made an irritated noise that would have been a scream had she opened her mouth. Of course she wouldn't win with Top. The young earthbender had made it her life duty to tease her. _Don't kill the earthbender, there are other enemies. Don't kill the earthbender there are other enemies. Later_ , she decided. Later she'd throttle the tiny pain in the ass, but for right now it was time to dodge punches, fire, and steel.

With a slide of her feet and push of her hands, the earth below them followed the young bender's command and formed three large pillars. For a brief moment Sukka thought they had an advantage. However, the three girls hadn't slowed down even a second. The eel hounds they rode climbed over the pillars and continued for the group.

 _Damn, so much for that._ Sukka pondered a moment, desperately calming herself down to think up a plan. _Four against three wasn't that bad of a chance, but that wasn't taking into consideration who they were up against. The chi blocker's punches were hard to dodge, and that was on a good day. Same for the knifes. There was also crazy blue fire to worry about, which had an incredible force behind it._ Sukka glanced at her comrades: exhausted, frazzled, swaying from lack of sleep, and could barely keep their eyes open. In a split second decision, Sukka sheathed her boomerang. "Come on, we wanted to know who was chasing us and now we do. Let's go," she said in a voice that held no room for argument.

Toph quickly created a wall to block off the three girls. _That might buy us some time_ , Sukka thought. _Okay, no throttling the earthbender._ The group began to leave just as there was a sudden crackling in the air. The group turned to watch a blinding light crash through the wall and create a giant gaping hole. Through the hole, the group could see the firebender in a stance that suggested _she_ had done that. The others seemed just as aghast as Sukka was. Even Toph looked pretty stunned. _Good, maybe that'll make them hurry._ "Come on," Sukka urged. Toph used the earth below them to fling themselves at Appa. Aang gave a quick command and the bison was in the air and flying far away from the three crazies.

As they flew away, the group looked back and watch their enemies stare at them. Kata broke the silence to announce his disbelief, "I can't believe those girls followed us all the way from Omashu." Sukka wasn't all that surprised, but then again she had grown accustomed to seeing a certain angry assface everywhere.

"I still think we could have taken them," Toph grumbled, crossing her arms and pouting childishly. Sukka was surprised at how uncharacteristic it seemed for the earthbender to actually act her age for once.

"Are you kidding me?" Kata gasped, looking at Toph with wide eyes. He pointed his fingers upward to parody flames as he said, "If the crazy blue fire and knives weren't enough, last time we met, one of them did something that took my bending away." He looked down as he added quietly, "That's scary."

 _Oh no, poor bender_ , Sukka thought grumpily. Although she had to admit, her brother had a point. For someone that had been born with that gift, and relied on it with their life, it would be terrifying to have that power suddenly gone. Even if only for a few minutes. She had been terrified herself when the pink girl paralyzed her. Sukka's musing stopped as she noticed an orange light coming from the horizon. "Oh no," Sukka groaned, scrambling to the front of Appa's saddle to point at the sunrise. "The sun is rising! We've been up all night with no sleep," she announced unnecessarily. Of course they knew, they were all miserable because of it.

"Sukka, we'll be fine," Aang tried to reassure her.

"Are you sure? I never not slept before," She said in a panic, hands digging into her hair. "What if I fall asleep now and something happens? And something _always_ happens," she cried, wide eyes jerking wildly to see if danger would suddenly appear. Her friends continued on, contently ignoring her delusional panic.

Kata mused aloud, "Every time we land, those girls are there. We'll just have to keep flying."

"We can't keep flying forever," Aang pointed out. The group began to contemplate their options for dealing with the persistent group of girls.

.~.~.~.

Sukka lifted the ceramic cup and took a long sip. Okay, the tea was definitely a great idea. She could feel herself waking up more as well as calming down. Sukka closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on her face and the weariness draining away. She felt refreshed - well. Not even the sound of the whining behind her dampened her mood.

"I can't believe I just yelled at my earthbending teacher," Aang cried more so to himself than anyone else, collapsing back onto Appa.

"I know," Kata sighed. "We were all just trying to get used to each other. And I was so mean to her," he said gloomily.

"Yeah," Sukka drawled, deciding to add her two cents, "you two _were_ pretty awful."

"Thanks, Sukka," Kata said sarcastically.

"No problem," she replied none the less, raising her cup slightly.

"We need to apologize to her," Kata decided with new determination.

"Okay," Sukka said slowly, turning around to face her brother from her seat on a rather comfortable rock. "But what about the tank full of dangerous ladies chasing us?"

Aang absentmindedly ran his hand through the fur underneath him. He pulled back his hand and with it, a clump of fur. The boy watched almost wistfully as he let the fur go and it blew in the wind. "I have an idea," he announced, not taking his eyes off the fur in the wind.

With slight shrugs to one another, Sukka and Kata followed as Aang began to lead Appa away from their resting spot. The Avatar stopped once they reached a river before informing the Water Tribe siblings of his plan. "Toph was right, his fur was leading them right to us. But if we bath him there won't be a trail to follow anymore," Aang explained.

 _Great, back on bison cleaning duty_.

.~.~.~.

 _It's a stupid plan. It's stupid! And that's coming from the girl that_ makes _them._ Sukka looked back as she and Kata rode Appa away. Aang stayed behind to lure the girls off their trail, but she wondered if it'd be enough. If Aang would be okay. Sukka chewed on her bottom lip.

"We can't just leave him," Kata said quietly, watching Aang turn into nothing but a dot.

"And we won't," Sukka replied quickly. "We get away from the three fire ladies, we find Toph, then we meet up with Aang again, and we fly away very, very far,"

"What if the plan doesn't work, what if they catch up to Aang?" Kata asked, still staring at where Aang had once been.

 _What if they catch up with_ us _,_ Sukka wanted to ask back. But she refrained from any comments. Kata had a right to worry. Especially considering how he felt about the air nomad. Sukka wasn't blind, she could see the world fall away for Kata when he looked at Aang. It was weird, but Sukka figured her brother could do worse than the Avatar. Plus, she had no room to talk about odd attractions considering what had happened in Kyoshi.

Warm, soft lips pushed up against her own. There was passion and a hunger in that kiss, but then Sukka saw an incredible shyness when Suki had pulled away. She had been so sure they would never meet again, that the warrior had to get out her feelings for the Water Tribe girl she had taught to fight. Sukka blushed at the memory. The kiss she shared had also made what happened in the North Pole a whole lot less shocking. The beautiful white haired princess that sacrificed herself to become the moon had won Sukka's heart with all but a single glance. In the moment it took to watch that kanoe float away, Sukka knew the whole "falling for girls" thing wasn't going to stop anytime soon. Nor would the crushes be a one time thing. No, she was as queer as the South Pole was cold. Sukka glanced at her brother who looked ready to jump off the flying bison and help Aang by himself. _At least I'm not the only one_ , she mused. _Hoo boy, was dad gonna be in for a surprise._

"It'll be okay," she said more so to herself. "Just keep an eye out for Toph… and blue fire,"

.~.~.~.

Sukka's lungs burned as she ran to catch up with her brother. She swore at the inability to exercise while hundreds of feet in the air. She'd have to bring that little problem up with Aang.

A familiar scream. The sound of something crashing. Blue fire.

 _Later. Yeah, definitely later._

Sukka ran between two houses just as she saw her brother run across on the other side. _He's being chased._ Sukka grabbed her machete and picked up her speed. She emerged from the corner just in time to almost take off their enemy's head. Almost. The firebender ducked and then dodged every swing Sukka gave. The firebender backed into the open street to gain some advantage, but Kata and Aang were at Sukka's sides once more.

Blue flames, wind, and water were exchanged between the three benders. Sukka did her best to just duck and distract when she could. The three friends had the firebender backing away. For a brief moment, Sukka worried their enemy would retreat, but then the ground moved from under the firebender's feet and she fell.

"I thought you guys could use a little help," Toph quipped, standing behind the fallen bender.

Sukka could have kissed that beautiful dirt coated face.

"Thanks," Kata said simply.

 _Oh good,_ now _they're not fighting._ Which technically was a good thing, but it would have been _great_ a couple of hours ago. The firebender shot to her feet and was running before Sukka realized it. The group followed her, but blue fire kept them at bay. A smirk played on the firebender's lips as she saw an alleyway. Pointed boots swiveled and she took off into the escape route.

 _She's getting away!_ Sukka would eat her own shoe before letting that happen. This chick wanted to come crashing in, uproot their little family, make her miss an _entire_ night of sleep, and then get off scot free? Not happening. Sukka bolted into the alleyway after the firebender. Kata was at her heels followed by Toph and Aang. When they emerged, Sukka was surprised to see a familiar old face. Of course, it was also a pretty bad thing that that face belonged to the Dragon of the West.

A figure moved behind the old man, drawing Sukka's attention. Oh, Zukari was here too. _Why wouldn't she be? Hell, we're already half dead on out feet and fighting_ one _firebender, why not throw two more- what's up with that haircut?_

More surprisingly, Sukka noticed that the two weren't attacking Aang. In fact, they were side by side with their little gang and trying to chase the blue fire lady away. _Okay… weird. Not bad weird, just weird._ Maybe the world would make sense later and jerkface would attack them, but for right now they were allies. It was oddly comforting.

"Well, look what we have here. Enemies and traitors, all working together. I'm done, I know when I'm beat," the firebender said once she was backed into a literal corner. She raised her hands in the air in a sign of surrender. "A princess surrenders with honor,"

 _Traitors?_ Sukka wanted to think about that. She wanted to ask jerkface and the not-really-a-jerk-but-still-technically-the-enemy elder what that meant. Sukka wanted to hope that that meant they weren't after Aang anymore. It would make the tattered Earth Kingdom clothes make sense. It could make their temporary alliance not so temporary, and as weird as that was, it'd also be _very_ good. Aang needed a firebender teacher and she needed inside information on the Fire Nation. But… Sukka had also seen the raw ferocity in Zukari's pale gold eyes. The sheer determination to hunting Aang, and her will to never give up. It could have made this all a trap, but Zukari wasn't the one to say it. _She_ wasn't the one trying to trick them, freaky skin-crawling-smirk chick was.

Sukka wanted to think over all those things and try to solve whatever new puzzle this was, but she couldn't. She held her gaze on the trapped firebender. All her thoughts solely on keeping the frightening girl there. One move - one distraction - and the firebender would strike like a cobra viper. Something she thought everyone beside her knew too, but when Azula struck out at the old man beside Zukari it was not parried like Sukka thought it would be. The fire struck the man and with a pained groan, the man fell to the ground. There was a moment of horror from all five kids before they shifted back to the mutual enemy and fired.

The group ducked an explosion of thick, black smoke was created. As the smoke cleared, Sukka snatched her boomerang off the ground and stood. It was surprising what incredible destruction that little attack did. Every house in the immediate area - and some houses even behind those - had caught fire. Or maybe they had already been like that? But that was just one small stunning calamity. Sukka followed Aang's gaze to see the princess kneeling beside her Uncle's too still form. From behind, she looked like she was shaking from anger. She threw down her hands and dug her nails into the dry dirt.

Sukka, Toph, Kata, and Aang approached the two - perhaps former - enemies. _This isn't right_ , Sukka thought to herself. Something about seeing the princess like this made something in her chest hurt.

Seeming to finally notice that she wasn't alone, Zukari looked at the group behind her. "Get away from us," she snarled with every ounce of venom Sukka remembered from her.

"Zukari, I can help," Kata said, voice softening as one would with a wounded animal.

 _Please,_ Sukka wanted to beg. _Let us just help. Spirits look at you two! What in koh's name even happened? Forget the stupid fighting and let us-_

"Leave," she screamed, throwing an arc of fire for emphasize.

Kata glanced at Aang, but they said nothing. Kata wanted to help. They _all_ wanted to help. Iroh wasn't a monster, he helped save the moon. Of course they wanted to help. But Zukari didn't see it that way and she wasn't about to have her enemies anywhere near her already injured uncle. They couldn't help someone that didn't want to be helped.

With some obvious regret, the group of kids left Zukari and Iroh in the collapsing town.

When the little group got back to Appa, they all but collapsed into the saddle. Aang muttered some destination to Appa and the flying beast lifted off the ground. Sukka laid on her back, watching the clouds float through the sky. Next to her, her brother was curled on his side and already falling asleep. For once, Sukka was glad that she was tired down to her bones. She wouldn't have to think about the princess. Tomorrow, she'd wonder about it. Tomorrow she could sit up when everyone else had fallen asleep and wonder why. Why the princess looked so horrible and in need of help and why that hurt. Tomorrow….

For right now?

Sukka closed her eyes and let the world fade away.

 _Finally, sleep._


End file.
